Spring has come
by The Not So Diligent Penguin
Summary: Spring is the season of change. It is a time of new growth and renewal. It is also a time of new love. The only question is, can Korra and those close to her survive it? Takes place after book 2.


Prologue

The door was abnormally heavy. Normally but things in the spirit world typically proved light for Korra, the current avatar and former "bridge" to the spirits but this thing barely budged. Hopefully it was because the door was old and not because it didn't want to give way to her.

"Here." Tenzin offered as he straightened his robes before moving to her side and together, they leaned forward.

The door groaned, its rusty hinges screaming as if they would rather break then give way but slowly, the door moved and then, it flung open causing the two to almost fall forward onto the cold stone floor.

"So…" Korra said gazing into the darkness for any movement. "Should we be ready to fight?" Korra punched her own palm as if to emphasize the point.

"No, my dad said he avoids violence."

Korra nodded before extending her open palm forward and igniting a small, but bright orange flame. Moving forward, Korra walked on the balls of her feet as she tried her best to examine the massive chamber that they were now in. Books lined the every inch of the tower-like structure but most of them were far beyond her reach as the "floor" was but a walkway to the center with total darkness above and below it. Falling off was not a good idea.

"Greetings," A voice said from all around them, "it has been a while since I've had an avatar visit. Do you like what I've done with the place? I decided to discard the stairs and floors. This knowledge is now but for my eyes only. But that never deterred avatar Aang, now did it? Ask your questions."

Korra glanced all around, her brow creased and her other hand closed into a tight fist. 'Keep calm when facing the spirits' she thought to herself. The spirits reflected the nature of the people around them and she certainly didn't want to make him any more hostile than he already was.

"You…" Korra said trying to exude as little anger as she could. "You threatened to kill Jinora and threw her into the Fog of Lost Souls…"

"And I suppose you are here to ask why." The voice said with a fatigued tone, "Why Wan Shi Tong, the knower of a thousand things would do such a thing? The simple answer is that I tire of Raava's rule. It certainly hasn't brought peace after all…"

Korra took a sharp breath, "So you decided to trick a little girl and kill her if I didn't surrender!?"

"Korra, calm yourself." Tenzin said placing a hand on her shoulder, "That isn't why we are here."

"Oh? Then why, son of Aang?" The voice droned.

Tenzin took a deep breath t compose himself, "I wanted to say, that I know that my father wronged you. And that he abused your knowledge broke and his word and that… I'm sorry. And I understand why you took my daughter."

"Hmmmm?" The voice responded inquisitively, "So now what? You believe that I should now offer you knowledge?"

Tenzin brushed his beard and he thought carefully of how to proceed. "You said you wanted peace correct? And balance?"

"Indeed. It was why this library was built. But as I have come to learn, balance and peace are rather… subjective."

"All we want to know is how we could restore the air nomads and restore the four nations!" Korra said furrowing her brow. "How is that subjective? The world needs more airbenders."

"How?" The voice whispered. Then, for the darkness a blast of wind came at them extinguishing the tiny flame in Korra's hand.

Relighting it, the two were suddenly in front of the great owl spirit himself. Sheathed in a cloak of pitch black feathers, his face looked completely calm despite the outburst from before. Leaning forward, their faces were less than a foot apart before his beak opened again.

"Nation building. Resurrection of a past failure. Trying to go back as the world moves forward. These things invariably lead to a clash of ideals. Which then leads to war and death. I suggest you stop wasting time and let the dead stay dead and go on with your short lives."

Tenzin sighed and shook his head. He sort of expected this but still, it was rather heartbreaking. Korra however, was not so quick to give up. Instead, she dug her feet in and inhaled.

"Is that it then? Give up?"

"Hm?" Wang Shi Tong muttered as he craned his neck. He then turned around so that only his cloak could be seen billowing from the air that leaked through the door. Then, his whole body began to grow and his feathers slowly morphed the scales. But just as it seemed as if he would attack them, he collapsed back into an owl becoming smaller and smaller.

"The air nomads were strong lovers of knowledge. And no one mourns their loss more than I. But things move on avatar Korra." At this point he seemed no taller than they were. "If they wanted to go back, they would have done it themselves by now"

Beating his massive wings, Wang Shi Tong let loose a massive gust of wind that blow the two clear outside of the building with the door slamming shut at their exit. Getting back up the Korra blew a wayward strand of hair away from her face.

"That went well." Korra said scratching the back of her head.

"It could have been worse."

Korra looked at him with one eyebrow raised as if Tenzin was crazy.

"He said 'them' after all."

_Meanwhile in Republic City_

Dark forms moved across the cold, stone floor past the bodies of police officers. Coming up to a single cell door, the dark forms stopped, checking its contents. Inside was a single, stout, old man. His gray beard had obviously grown out of control since he was first placed here and his hair was matted and displayed a greasy sheen. His brownish-gold eyes, however, gleamed with a fierceness, as if he was beast that was just chained.

"Hiroshi Sato…" One of the cloak voices said echoing throughout the room, "Come with us. A certain… benefactor wants to meet you. Interested?"

Hiroshi grinned.


End file.
